Jackson, Durant Carry Duke Past Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The running back duo of senior Deon Jackson and junior Mataeo Durant combined for 332 yards rushing and two scores to lead Duke past Syracuse, 38-24, on Saturday afternoon.

Duke outscored the Orange in every quarter besides the third where Syracuse held the 7-6 edge. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 10-7 lead but the home side answered with a fumble recovery for a touchdown to pull in front 14-10. Duke wouldn’t go away though, registering 17 straight points to break the game open at 27-14. The Blue Devils were then able to hold on down the stretch for the 14-point victory and their first win of the 2020 season.

The Blue Devils recorded 645 yards of total offense, marking the first time since November 11, 2018 against North Carolina in which Duke saw 600+ yards of offense. The Blue Devils registered 416 of those total yards in the first half alone, marking the most yards put up in an opening half during the David Cutcliffe era.

In total, Duke’s run game was on display Saturday night as the Blue Devils tallied 363 rushing yards, the third-most in a single game under Cutcliffe.

Jackson and Durant paced the Blue Devil offense as both totaled career high yards of 169 and 163, respectively. This marked the first time since the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl in which Duke had two players with 100+ rushing yards and was the first time in the Cutcliffe era that Duke had two players with 150+ rushing yards. Durant also added two rushing scores for the first multi-touchdown game of his career.

Redshirt junior quarterback Chase Brice finished 22-of-38 with 270 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunnar Holmberg also saw action, completing his lone pass attempt for 12 yards to sophomore wide receiver Jalon Calhoun in the second quarter.

Wide receivers redshirt sophomore Jarett Garner and junior Jake Bobo were Duke’s top receiving threats with 73 and 70 yards, respectively. The Blue Devil quarterbacks targeted nine+ different receivers for the fourth time this season.

Redshirt junior cornerback Leonard Johnson led the Duke defense with six tackles. Senior defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo recorded a career-high three tackles for loss. In addition, Duke totaled a season-high six sacks, highlighted by redshirt junior Chris Rumph II and senior Victor Dimukeje with 2.0 and 1.5, respectively.

Redshirt freshman kicker Charlie Ham converted on all three of his field goal attempts, including his second make of over 40+ yards.

Duke returns to action next Saturday when it travels to Raleigh to take on NC State at 3:30 p.m